VPRS 1738 Court Of Petty Sessions Cause List Books

Courts of Petty Sessions (now known as Magistrates' Courts) dealt with a very large range of "minor" court matters. Cases were heard in three jurisdictions: criminal, civil, and licensing. In the nineteenth century they provided the lowest level of redress in civil and criminal matters. The County Court and the Supreme Court heard and determined more serious criminal cases and larger civil disputes. The licensing jurisdiction included both liquor and non-liquor licensing matters until 1886 when separate liquor Licensing Courts were established.Successive Justices Acts required clerks of Petty Sessions to keep a record of all decisions and orders made by Courts of Petty Sessions. This record is the authoritative record of the court. Until about 1888, volumes used for this purpose were called Cause List Books (a cause meaning a case). Most Courts of Petty Sessions dealt with criminal, civil and licensing matters as they arose. Accordingly, Cause List Books generally give details of all these types of cases. Only the largest and busiest courts recorded civil, criminal and licensing matters separately.Cause List Books are generally in a common format. At the top of each page are recorded details of the name of the court, the date of sitting and the name of the Chairman of the court and other presiding officer(s). For each case heard, details are given of the name of the complainant, defendant, any fees to be paid, the cause (ie the criminal charge or the nature of the civil claim), the decision and any remarks. The remarks column was sometimes used to record the payment of fines or fees. In order to authenticate entries made in the Cause List Book the presiding officer(s) of the court signed it at the end of each day.

治安裁判法庭（Courts of Petty Sessions，现称治安法院（Magistrates' Courts））承办品类繁多的轻微庭审事务。其庭审涵盖三类管辖权限：刑事、民事与许可类事务。在19世纪，该类法庭是民事与刑事事务中最低层级的救济渠道。郡法院（County Court）与最高法院（Supreme Court）则审理并裁决更为重大的刑事案件与涉案标的更大的民事纠纷。直至1886年独立的酒类许可法庭（liquor Licensing Courts）设立前，其许可类管辖权限同时涵盖酒类与非酒类许可事务。

历次颁布的《治安法官法》（Justices Acts）要求治安裁判法庭书记员（clerks of Petty Sessions）留存该法庭所有裁判与命令的记录，此类记录即为该法庭的权威档案。直至约1888年，用于该用途的卷宗被称为案由登记簿（Cause List Books），其中"cause"意指诉讼案件。多数治安裁判法庭会依序处理刑事、民事及许可类事务，因此案由登记簿通常会详细记录上述全部类型的案件。仅规模最大、业务最繁忙的法庭才会将三类事务分开记录。

案由登记簿通常采用统一格式。每页顶部会记录法庭名称、开庭日期、法庭庭长及其他主审官员（presiding officer）的姓名。针对每起审理中的案件，登记簿会记录原告（complainant）、被告（defendant）的姓名、应缴费用金额、诉讼案由（即刑事指控（criminal charge）内容或民事诉求（civil claim）性质）、裁判结果及附注说明。附注栏有时会用于记录罚款或费用的缴纳情况。为确保案由登记簿中登记内容的真实性，法庭主审官员需于每日庭审结束后在登记簿上签字。